The Latest from Big Think

What is really so shocking anyway about a policeman siding with ‘radical’ environmentalists whose views on climate change are sympathised with by many members of the establishment?

This deep divide in American political morality — for that’s what it amounts to — is a relatively recent development: Paul Krugman.

In a post on the New York Review of Books website, historian Garry Wills again compared Obama to Abraham Lincoln, a comparison uniquely compelling when assessed by Wills, our most […]

The world's largest Massive Multi-Player Game isn't World of Warcraft, The Sims, or Happy Farm. In fact, it's not even online. It is the most ancient of arts: diplomacy. Diplomacy, as the […]

I have a gun. I have had it for several years now, and it lives in a heavy metal cabinet in my sitting room. In owning a gun, I am […]

Amanda of Pandagon points to a disturbing ABC News story about teens getting plastic surgery in a bid to escape bullying or, and/or to recover from the psychological scars of […]

The legendary chess grandmasters, who have spent thousands of hours analyzing each other's games, describe and critique each others' playing styles.

I was pretty content looking at CPAN last night, watching the people milling around the University of Arizona’s arena after President Obama’s remarks during the memorial service for those killed […]

The global financial crisis emptied the pockets of European governments. Although the Netherlands had it easy compared to some of its neighbors, the government still ran a deficit of 6% […]

I thought I'd call attention to one conservative appreciation among many of the President Obama's speech in Tuscon. From Peter Wehner's post on the Commentary magazine blog "Contentions": The president resisted […]

I almost never understand the media.  For instance, at a time when the US is engaged in an excruciating and incredibly long war and is involved in military action in […]

I am a little late to the party, but all the waiting for the past year (and more) for new activity at Mt. Etna in Italy have paid off. The […]

The Eiffel Tower was intended to stand for only 20 years past its 1889 debut—experts at the time predicted it would come crashing down before construction was even finished.

If I want to be free to play the violin in a well-performed Beethoven symphony, then I must submit myself to the authority of a conductor to coordinate the musicians' play.

The attack on gun culture is built on a deep suspicion of the motivations of ordinary citizens expressing political opinions, says American Studies professor Kevin Yuill.

Gabriel Orozco, Mexico's foremost living artist, has a secret. Though he is celebrated for his "post-studio practice" it turns out he has a space that many artists would call a studio.

Holding a hard or soft ball can influence a person's perception of how masculine or feminine others are. Our sense of touch is connected to social processing in our brains.

Our natural sunny or negative dispositions might be a more powerful predictor of future happiness than any specific event, suggests a new study of human psychology.

Those at the end of emerging adulthood will better make the family and career decisions they had been putting off, resulting in a future of greater life satisfaction and stability.

The key role of emerging and developing countries—including India, China, and Brazil—in sustaining world economic growth will continue in 2011, says the I.M.F.